A California Distinguished School

Our Mission Is Learning “We will ensure that all our children will learn more today than yesterday, and more tomorrow than today.”

Las Palmas Elementary School is located in the beautiful coastal community of San Clemente. Las Palmas was the city’s first school. Once known as San Clemente Grammar School, it has been in use since 1927. Since then, Las Palmas Elementary has gone through many changes.

In the beginning, the first teachers taught students of many different grade levels in one classroom. In the 1970s, Las Palmas welcomed young Vietnamese refugee children and helped them adjust to their new life in the United States. Today Las Palmas is 80% Hispanic and home of the unique Two-Way Language Immersion Program, which teaches students to become fluent in both Spanish and English. Although the majority of our students come from the immediate neighborhood, about 20% come from other parts of San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, and elsewhere to attend the Immersion Program.